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Abstract

How can indigenous building knowledge contribute to contemporary climate resilience strategies in Central Asia? This panel explores the intersection of architecture, environmental governance, and material culture in Uzbekistan, focusing on a low-carbon wooden house prototype designed and constructed as part of the VEGERA project. Drawing on field research, energy performance modeling, and policy review, this session proposes that traditional housing typologies—often dismissed as outdated—hold critical value for post-carbon futures.

The panel invites papers that examine how construction practices rooted in vernacular design can support contemporary sustainability agendas, especially in rapidly urbanizing regions like Uzbekistan. Contributors may address themes such as: the socio-political barriers to reintroducing local materials like wood in modern housing; how community knowledge interfaces with international green standards; the role of institutional actors in enabling or obstructing alternative construction practices; and the evolving perception of traditional vs. modern in public housing aspirations.

Bonu Azizova will present new findings from a comparative building energy simulation, showing that the wooden prototype house reduced operational emissions to one-third of a standard brick house, with even greater impact when PV panels were integrated. However, the research argues that carbon efficiency alone is not enough—social acceptance, regulatory approval, and cultural narratives of “progress” all shape whether such designs can scale.

This panel aims to bridge architectural innovation with critical area studies, situating climate-friendly housing within the broader transformation of post-Soviet spatial identities, governance frameworks, and material imaginaries. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary contributions from anthropology, planning, environmental sociology, and Central Asian studies.